Family Man
by Xorncon - Number 0
Summary: Nick never cared about anyone but himself, and had two basic rules: trust no one and look out for number one, no exceptions. However, the rest of the survivors learn that Nick does care about others, namely his two nephews. Set during Dark Carnival


Here's my oneshot for Bl3h since he helped me with setting ideas, involving Nick and the Dark Carnival campaign! YIPPIE!!

* * *

'_Damn it,'_ Nick thought to himself. Of all the places that they had to stumble to it had to be a fucking amusement park. Christ, Ellis was childish enough on his own, the last thing he needed to do is run through an amusement park shooting zombies.

"Yo Nick," a deep voice called out. Nick's head snapped up, seeing Coach waving to him. "Come on man, we ain't leaving your ass behind!" Nick sighed heavily then followed the others into the safe house.

It wasn't so much that he was hated amusement parks, or that he was worried about Ellis doing something stupid, which he always did. The real reason Nick was lamenting coming to this amusement park is because of his family. Well, not _his_ family, but his sister's kids rather.

"Hey man, check it out," Ellis' always happy voice shouted. "The Midnight Riders!"

"Never heard of them," Nick muttered, absent mindedly trying to make conversation. "They any good?"

"Uh, yeah, they're a pretty big deal," Ellis replied, placing his hand on his hip and his shotgun on his shoulder.

"Hell yeah," Coach agreed with his goofy smile. "I've got ALL they're albums. Even their new stuff that ain't no good. Best light show in the business though!"

"I've heard that you can see their shows from space!" Nick ignored their conversation, staring out into the amusement park. It was empty, devoid of life and overall depressing. Wasn't like the amusement park he remembered taking his nephews to.

--

It was a sunny day as Nick and his two nephews, Edward, a thirteen year old, and Jamie, an eight year old holding his uncle's hand, walked into an amusement park. Nick had managed to pull the kids away from Kathy to let them spend some time with their favorite, and only, uncle who they only saw once in a blue moon. And whenever he did get to visit, Kathy was usually reluctant to let her kids go with Nick, mainly because he was a drifter and possibly a criminal. Nick wore sunglasses to shield his eyes from the bright sun, a light blue T-shirt and a pair of khaki shorts.

"Alright kids, so where do you want to head to first?"

"The roller coaster," Edward shouted eagerly. "They've got this new one that has like eight loops Uncle Nick!"

"Alright, well let's just see how far it is."

"But why," Ed asked, pouting with disappointment.

"Because," Nick replied as he headed towards a map on a nearby wall. "If it's in the back of this park then we'll save it for last. Plus if it has like eight loops then it should be the best right?" Ed nodded slowly, "And you know your Uncle Nick always loves to save the best for last."

--

Nick stared at a poster on the wall of a safe house before he realized he was spacing out. Ellis lifted the bar from the safe house door, ready to go as Nick got to his feet. Why the hell was that one memory coming back to him now of all times? It's not that he didn't love his nephews, but it's that he didn't want to appear soft in front of these people he's only known for a day. Nick didn't mind showing his soft side to his nephews or even his little sister at times, but complete strangers were a whole different story. Ellis ran out of the safe house door, screaming with excitement before he realized a bunch of zombies were coming at him. Coach, Rochelle, and Nick then ran out and started firing into the horde along with Ellis who was crouched down. The zombies were all dead and Nick stormed up to Ellis, smacking him in the back of the head.

"Ow, what the fuck Nick?"

"Don't go alerting any more zombies like that," Nick snapped. "I just want to get out of here as quickly as possible!" The man in the white suit stomped away, leaving the rest of the survivors confused.

"Dang, he seems angrier than usual," Ellis pointed out.

"He seemed a little distracted," Coach added. "Maybe something's wrong with him?" Nick walked up to one of the stands where you knocked over the bottles and got a stuffed animal. He couldn't remember what the hell they were called, but he remembered it whenever he was with his nephews.

--

Jamie hurled the ball at the bottles, missing the tower of white plastic. "Oh, air ball," the stand worker shouted obnoxiously.

Nick wanted to take a pair of brass knuckles to the side of this guy's head. It was Jamie's third try and he was on his last ball and each and every time he missed the fucking worker just kept making fun of the little kid, which annoyed the fuck out of Nick. Jamie clutched the last ball, staring at the stacked bottles longingly.

"Hey wait a sec," Nick said, kneeling down next to Jamie. "You want a tip Jamie?" The eight year old nodded. "Don't look at the bottles directly."

"Huh?"

"Just don't focus on the balls and throw it. And when you throw it, act like you're going to point at the bottles okay?"

"I'll try…"

Nick smiled and stood back up, taking a step away from Jamie. The eight year old closed his eyes and pulled his arm back to throw. Jamie released the ball, sending it flying forward. It hit, but not the bottles. The stand worker groaned and placed his hands over his crotch with his eyes crossed. The worker fell down, and Nick exploded with laughter. Jamie looked forward and his eyes widened before he ran up, clutching his uncle's leg and started sobbing.

"Hey, what's wrong," Nick asked.

"I'm gonna get in trouble." Nick kneeled down, placing a hand on Jamie's head.

"Hey, I won't tell if you don't. Deal?" Jamie nodded, wiping his tears away. "Now let old Uncle Nick do what he does best." Nick stood back up, looking over the counter and seeing the stand worker twitching, still holding his nuts in pain. "Air ball," Nick teased before grabbing a stuffed lion. "Here ya go kid." Jamie took the stuffed animal with an embarrassed smile and hugged it tightly.

"Thank you Uncle Nick…" Nick smiled then ruffled Jamie's hair before taking the kid's hand and walking over to the shooting gallery where Ed was. The thirteen year old was firing at moving cardboard cut outs with surprising precision.

"Dam—ng kid." Nick tried not to curse only around his young nephews, but ONLY around his nephews. "If your mom asks I didn't teach you this." Ed ignored his uncle, still shooting down the cut outs one by one. A bell rang and everything stopped.

"Congratulations," a worker exclaimed. "You've won!"

"Sweet," Ed shouted, throwing the gun down to pump his arms in the air. "What do I get!?"

"A gnome!" Ed's face dropped with shock as the worker handed him a gnome almost the size of his little brother. Nick snickered, finding amusement in the random prize, not in his nephew's disappointment.

--

Nick stood in front of the shooting gallery at Whispering Oaks, old memories flooding into his mind. "You okay?" Nick shook his head, looking over to see Rochelle standing next to him. "I think we have enough targets, but if you really want to play I can find us a quarter."

"It's not that," Nick replied, shaking his head. "It's…never mind, let's just go." Nick walked off and Rochelle followed.

"Man, funnel cakes, elephant ears, this is bringin back some memories," Coach exclaimed. "Cotton candy, the wise pharaoh of foods. Sittin at the TOP of the food pyramid, judging all the lesser foods.

Nick walked past the large man, trying to get out even faster now. Nick's instincts were screaming at him to get the hell out, leave the others and just get out of this damned park. However, he knew he wouldn't get very far on his own and that he needed everyone with him. Still, it was only natural for Nick to not open up to people and exert a tough, I-don't-care-about-anyone-besides-me attitude.

"Watch out," Ellis' voice called out.

Nick looked up just as a Hunter pounced on him clawing at his sides. Nick punched the Hunter's chest, trying to get it off, but to no avail. Coach finally ran up, throwing his large fist into the Hunter's face and sending it flying off of Nick. Coach fired a round into the Hunter's chest, blowing the leaping zombie in half.

"Damn, you okay Nick?"

"I'm fine," the blue eyed survivor lied as he stood up. "Bastard barely touched me. Now let's move it." The survivors continued on, eventually getting to a merry-go-round completely surrounded by a wired fence. "Jesus Christ, is this a federal carousel penitentiary?"

"I've never seen a merry-go-round fenced in before, except this one time when my buddy Dave-,"

"We ain't got time for this Ellis."

"Okay, but there was two pigs in a blanket…seriously." Nick ignored his redneck friend and started walking around the fence to find a way through. The conman eventually stumbled upon a sign that caused him to smirk.

"You gotta be this tall to get in. Sorry Ellis you'll be missed."

"Oh aren't you the real comedian," Ellis shot back with an annoyed tone.

"Looks like he's coming back to normal," Rochelle said, leaning to Coach.

"I hope so god damn it," Coach replied.

"I guess the only way we're getting through is if we activate the merry-go-round," Nick stated. "I got a feeling it's probably gonna activate everything else around here."

"When we start that merry-go-round, get ready to MOVE!" Nick pressed the button, lights went off and loud music started playing.

"God damn it," Nick shouted as the fence slowly creaked open. The sound of a horde approaching caused the survivors to panic as the fence opened slowly before it was big enough for them to run through.

The survivors ran as quickly as possible, and somehow didn't run into any zombies. That was the case until Ellis turned a corner then got rushed by them. Nick looked around frantically for something to use and found a crowbar. The man with the white suit ran up and started swinging away, taking chunks of zombie faces off as he made his way through to Ellis. The mechanic was on the ground, shooting up at the zombies with his double pistols as Nick ran up next to him. Not knowing who it was, Ellis aimed and fired a shot that barely missed Nick's face.

"WHOA SHIT!" Nick fell backwards, landing on his rear as Ellis quickly got up.

"Oh shit man I'm so sorry!"

"Damn! You suck at shooting!"

"Hey, come on ya'll!" Ellis helped Nick up and the two ran after Coach and Rochelle who were ahead of them, shooting at zombies. The survivors kept moving and kept shooting as they encountered more and more zombies trying to find the source of the noise and bright lights. Coach blasted a zombie and looked around for anything that could help. His prayers were answered whenever he saw a safe room in the last place he expected. "Quick: everyone in the tunnel of love!"

"Tunnel of love," Nick repeated, looking back over his shoulder. "Jesus Christ!"

The survivors ran for the safe house, firing back at the zombies trying to get to them. Once they were inside, Coach slammed the door and brought the bar down, keeping the zombies outside banging on the heavy metal door. Coach started laughing triumphantly while Nick fell onto his rear, breathing heavily.

"Man, what's the world coming to when even a merry-go-round is too dangerous," Ellis asked. "Shit, shit, shit…" Nick stared down at the ground, losing himself in another flashback.

--

Nick stood with his arms crossed, and Ed standing at his side while they watched Jamie riding around on the merry-go-ground. Ed had a thing of cotton candy which he chewed and picked at while Nick watched Jamie who waved to his uncle every time he passed him. The ride stopped and the kids got of for the next group to get on. Nick and Ed walked to the exit line where they met Jamie.

"How was it kid," Nick asked, taking his nephew's hand.

"It was fun."

"Can we go on the roller coaster next Uncle Nick," Ed asked, poking his uncle's hip.

"Well get to it Ed, I promise. We got a few more stops to make on the way, like those bumper cars you keep bugging me about." Nick stared walking with Jamie and Ed through the amusement park. On the way, Nick noticed some young girls who wore very revealing attire, causing him to turn his head and watch them for a moment. There were some things he couldn't change, even for his family.

"What're you doing Uncle Nick," Jamie asked, tugging at his arm.

"Oh nothing," Nick replied casually before turning back around with a devious smile on his face. Ed looked up at his uncle then turned around to what he could've been staring at. "Hey Jamie, you got yourself a girlfriend yet?" The eight year old blushed and glared up angrily at his uncle.

"No Uncle Nick!"

"Yes you do," Ed accused. "You talk to that one girl Michelle in your class!"

"Oh, look at you. I knew you were a regular lady's man."

"I don't have a girlfriend," Jamie shouted, his face increasingly red. "Girls have cooties anyway!" Nick threw his head back and howled with laughter. The three walked through the park in silence as they headed for the next ride.

--

"Why couldn't I have been in Las Vegas when the infection hit, or even Atlantic City? Instead, I'm trapped in some hillbilly tunnel of love." Ellis turned around, giving a concerned look to Nick who angrily messed with an assault rifle that he acquired in the safe room.

"Man I'm real worried about him," Ellis muttered. "He wasn't even this bad whenever we all first met."

"There's definitely something fishy going on with him," Rochelle stated.

"Give the man some space," Coach said, trying to clam the others down. "If he wants to tell us what's botherin him then he'll tell us. Ya'll know Nick ain't the type of person who wants to be forced into havin deep emotional conversations."

"I guess you're right," Rochelle agreed. "But I am not standin in front of him whenever the bullets start flying." The survivors left the safe room and ran out into the tunnel of love, firing at the zombies that lingered about.

"You finally got your wish Ellis. We're in an amusement park ride."

"This ain't that kind of ride Nick," Ellis snapped before whispering. "This is the type of place you bring your girlfriend." Nick rolled his eyes at Ellis' stupidity while Coach only laughed at them both.

"What's up Coach? Bringing back memories? You, a cheeseburger, romance in the air?" Ellis howled with laughter, slapping his knee while Rochelle only chuckled, but watched Coach carefully. The large man turned around with a smile on his face, taking the joke in good humor.

"How many tunnel of love memories YOU got Nick?" The survivor scoffed then waved his hand dismissively.

"Several, EASILY." Coach laughed with good humor before walking down the tunnel. Nick stayed focused, trying to keep his mind from flashing back again. Luckily it was easy since he didn't go through the tunnel of love with his nephews. Plenty of other women though. "You could almost call this a river of cee-ment, Ellis."

"Ha, ha very funny," Ellis replied, peeved that he was getting picked on so much.

"Oh shit, watch out!" Everyone looked forward, seeing a swan boat flying at them. The survivors dove to the side as the boat crashed behind them. They stared forward, seeing a Tank coming at them.

"Man, that Tank obviously didn't get lucky on this ride!" Ellis and Rochelle ignored this comment and began firing into the Tank as Coach ran back towards his group. Nick looked around for some place to run to and luckily found it. "Quick, everyone into the swan maintenance room of love!" Ellis and Rochelle looked at each other oddly before Nick ran to the left. The Tank roared and followed after him, much to his dismay. "Shit, this could be a bad tunnel of love memory!"

Nick looked around, seeing huge piles of swan boats stacked up on one another. The conman quickly pulled out his crowbar then started whacking the support posts. One of the boats fell off, smashing on top of the Tank. This only seemed to enrage the zombie as it roared then sent the boat sailing with a wave of its arm. The boat crashed on the back wall, causing Rochelle, Coach, and Ellis to jump with surprise. Nick continued running, shooting at the Tank as he ran. Nick was stopped by a wall. He turned around as the Tank kept getting closer and closer. The survivor looked around frantically, before spotting a grenade launcher. Nick dove to the side right as the Tank tried to smash its fists into him. The Tank smashed a giant hole in the wall, causing a few bricks to fall onto it. Nick picked up the grenade launcher and fired a shot, blowing the front of the Tank wide open. Chunks of the Tank rained down as what was left of its body fell back in a bloody heap of gore and muscle. The rest of the survivors ran up, looking at Nick who examined the grenade launcher for a moment before tossing it aside.

"Only good for one shot I guess, just like you Ellis." Coach laughed heartily, slapping Ellis on the shoulder.

"Oh yeah, that's not what your wife said," Ellis shot back.

"Oh-ho-ho," Nick shouted before laughing along with Coach and Rochelle. The survivors looked outside, seeing a roller coaster before them. "Ah shit…"

--

Nick, Jamie, and Ed had finally gotten their chance to ride the roller coaster that Ed was just DYING to ride. Ed was smiling the whole time, unable to wait to get onto the roller coaster, while Jamie clung closely to his uncle.

"Alright, I guess we're going on next," Nick stated. "Let's go kids." Ed cheered in excitement as he sat at the far end of one car, followed by Nick and then Jamie. The worker made sure their seat belts were fastened. Nick looked over, noticing his youngest nephew was trembling. "Hey, what's wrong kiddo?"

"I-I'm scared of heights," Jamie whispered weakly.

"Jamie let me tell ya something: when you're scared of anything, the best thing to do is just to face your fears." Nick held out his hand to his nephew, "If you get scared you can crush my hand into powder if you want." Jamie swallowed a bit before grabbing his uncle's hand tightly. "We can get off if you want?"

"No, Edward would be mad at me," Jamie whispered, looking at his older brother who was sitting on the edge of his seat. The safety bars fell into everyone's laps and the cars began to move. Jamie squeaked with fear, closing his eyes and squeezing his uncle's hand tightly.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine Jamie," Nick whispered to his nephew as he gave his tiny hand a light squeeze.

--

"So we've gotta run along the coaster tracks while shooting zombies," Ellis said as they got to the coaster. "Holy shit it's Christmas!" Nick rolled his eyes then nodded to Coach who hit the button. The gates opened and the coaster flew down the tracks, alerting a horde. "Awe shit, run man run," Ellis shouted with the biggest grin on his face.

The survivors started running for dear life down the coaster tracks, seeing zombies flying through the air as the coaster hit them off the tracks. Rochelle and Nick shouted to run faster, but they occasionally were slowed down by hordes of zombies. Nevertheless, they kept moving further and further down the coast tracks.

"Thank god this doesn't make a loop," Nick shouted. Just then, a Jockey appeared then jumped on Ellis' back, threatening to drag him off the tracks. Nick aimed his assault rifle then fired a burst into the Jockey's face. The zombie fell over dead, and Ellis hit the ground but was shortly helped up by Coach. "These infected do not respect lines!"

The survivors continued through wave after wave of zombies before they got to the end of the roller coaster, shutting the noisy damn thing off.

"Get to the safe house," Ellis shouted, pointing off to the side. On the way there, the survivors heard a helicopter flying overhead. "Oh shit! Hey down here!"

"They can't hear us Ellis," Coach shouted as he dragged the mechanic with him.

Rochelle made it inside first, firing a few rounds into the oncoming wave of zombies while Coach and Ellis made it in safely. Nick started running as quickly as he could, but a Spitter launched wad of spit in the survivor's path. Nick shouted and yelped as he jumped out of the way, towards the safe house. Suddenly, a Hunter flew out from the bushes, pouncing Nick and clawed his shoulder. Nick screamed in pain as he tried to push the zombie off but to no avail. The Hunter growled and pulled its claw back again, but before it could strike its head blew off. Coach ran up and lifted Nick to his feet.

"I'm up, I'm up," Nick shouted frantically. Coach then pushed for Nick to get to the safe house while he started firing into the oncoming zombies. The Spitter from before jumped down next to Nick then sprayed him with acid. "ARGH FUCKING BITCH!!" The acid covered Nick's side, hitting the claw mark the Hunter made earlier. Nick pulled out his crowbar then hurled it at the Spitter, getting one end of it straight through its skull. "Shit!" Nick hobbled into the safe house with Coach right behind him. The former school teacher slammed the door shut and slammed the bar down to lock it. "FUCK!"

"Don't worry man, we got some shit in here that'll help for your burns and shit," Ellis told Nick, pulling out a tube. Nick snatched the tube then shoved Ellis out of the way. "Hey, what the hell man?"

"Shut up, just shut the fuck up right now! Shit!" Most of the acid only got on his suit, but what really burned like hell was where the damn Hunter clawed him before. Nick put some of the cream on his wound, causing it to burn more than before. "FUCK! What the hell is this?!"

"I was just tryin to help man," Ellis said. "I don't know what your fuckin problem is man."

"My fucking problem is every god damn thing that's been happening and you're not helping with your constant idiotic comments! Fuck!"

Nick threw his gun across the room in a fit of rage before walking into the furthest corner away from the rest of the group. He sat behind a wall of crates, away from their visibility. The conman ran his hand down his face before putting it back on his forehead. He knew the infection hit up north first, but the news was saying CEDA and the army had it under control. And almost overnight the infection seems to have spread this far south. Nick's sister and nephews lived up north, around where the infection hit. They were the only thing keeping him from being a straight up criminal. And now they were either dead or eating another person's guts out. Nick hit the nearest wall, holding back the urge to scream. He never really thought about his family that much until now, at this damned carnival.

"Ey," a deep voice called out gently. Nick looked up to see Coach standing in front of him, keeping his distance.

"Stay the fuck away," Nick warned.

"Nah man, we're gonna talk about this shit. At first I thought it wouldn't bother anything too much, but now I need to know what's eatin at ya."

"Nothing's fucking eating at me," Nick snapped, the volume in his tone rising. "Leave me the fuck alone!"

"Nick, we're gonna stay in here until you talk about this."

"Then you're going to be waiting a long time!" Nick looked away from Coach, his instincts fighting against an unknown urge to tell Coach the truth. A part of Nick was saying that these four survivors: a big hungry black guy, an annoying and childish redneck hillbilly, and a news reporter who always played peacemaker, were now the only thing keeping him together.

"Nick," Coach began as he sat down where he stood. "I know we don't always get along, and shit you don't get along with anyone. But I think if anything you owe us an explanation at the very least." Nick avoided staring at Coach who just sat there, staring at Nick. "Come on man, you gotta give us somethin…" Nick sighed heavily and looked at the ground.

"This amusement park reminded me of something a few years back…"

"Alright, what was it?" Nick clenched his jaw, his instincts screaming not to tell him.

"I have two nephews alright? A few years ago I took them to an amusement park when they were eight and thirteen." Coach stayed silent, staring at Nick in a totally different light. "Their mother didn't like me hanging around them. Said I was a bad influence because I was a drifter and a conman. That and the fact I went to jail once or twice didn't help either. That time I took them to an amusement park was the only time I got to spend a full day with them by myself. I don't know why, but I'm starting to remember it all right now."

"Why didn't you just tell us man," Coach asked.

"I don't fucking know. I'm use to being by myself except when it comes to family. It's hard enough for me to trust you total strangers, how the fuck am I supposed to tell you all about my personal problems?"

"Well…I guess so. I know it wasn't easy telling me this Nick. So thanks."

"No problem…thanks for listening." Nick reached into his pant's pocket and pulled out a wallet.

"What's that," Coach asked.

Nick flipped it open, looking at a few pictures for a moment before tossing it to the heavyset man. Coach took the wallet and looked at the pictures. One was of a young woman, light blonde hair, sparkling blue eyes and a loving smile. The next picture had the same woman, this time with a small boy with the same blonde hair and brown eyes and a baby in her arms. Coach continued at the pictures, seeing one of Nick with the same two kids, a bit older though. Another one of the pictures was of the three of them at an amusement park, Nick looked a lot younger, one of the boys had the bright blonde hair and the other had dark brown hair, all of them smiling. The smile on Nick's face was new, almost alien, to Coach. He looked genuinely happy with is nephews. The last two pictures were more recent, one of Nick with his arm around a young man's blonde head, looking like they were wrestling, and another one was of a younger man on Nick's back, putting him in a chokehold. Coach huffed with a smile on his face before he handed the wallet back to Nick.

"It's a beautiful family you got Nick." The survivor in the suit grabbed his wallet, stared at the pictures longingly before folding up his wallet and putting it back in his pocket. "How old are they?"

"Well the youngest one, Jamie, would've just turned twenty, and his brother Edward is twenty five I think."

"Twenty and twenty five," Coach repeated. "Shit, that means you were ten when your sister had them?!"

"Actually I was fifteen. My sister is five years older than me. Kathy got with this one guy, who was Ed and Jamie's dad. Ed was already born though, different mom, same dad. Kathy got with out of high school. Parents hated the guy and eventually stopped talking to Kathy, especially after she was pregnant with his kid at the age of twenty. The guy was older than I am now, like thirty seven, thirty eight. Well, after she was pregnant with Jamie, the bastards ran off, leaving her with two kids. Our parents didn't do shit to help, so I started doing shit for money. I stole stuff, sold stuff, broke stuff, beat up people, as long as I got money to give to Kathy to help her take care of her kids. Well that didn't make the folks happy at all so they disowned me too. Eventually, Kathy found this really nice guy, pretty damn rich, enough money to take care of her and both the kids and pay off most of the debts she had. Then she tossed me out like last week's paper. Said I was a bad influence to Jamie and Ed because I did illegal shit. Fuck, I did everything for her and her kids!"

"Then why'd you keep doin it," Coach asked. Nick sighed, staring up at the ceiling.

"It's an addicting lifestyle," Nick admitted. "The thrill of robbing a store in the dead of night, or the rush of beating down some deadbeat drug addict who didn't have money to pay, it's all one big burst of energy in a way. Maybe…maybe I was a bad influence for them…"

"Don't say shit like that Nick. You look happy as hell in them pictures. If those nephews of yours can bring an actual smile to that poor excuse of a mug you call a face, then they've got to be a positive influence on you." Nick started laughing at the face remark before looking at Nick.

"Thanks Coach…" The heavyset man nodded then groaned as he tried to get up. Nick quickly stood up and held out a hand to offer. Coach smiled then grabbed Nick's hand and was pulled up by the con. The two walked out from behind the crates, seeing Rochelle and Ellis scrambling away. Coach and Nick had the same questioning looks at the survivors as Rochelle played with her hair and Ellis whistled. "Were you two listening that whole time?"

"What, no, no, no," Rochelle said casually. "I just uh…dropped my hairpin." Nick smirked and shook his head. "Okay, we were spying, but it was Ellis' idea!"

"It was not! Okay, maybe it was, but I was just curious." Nick shook his head again.

"Whatever, it doesn't matter, what does matter is how do we signal that chopper!"

"I got an idea…" Coach explained his plan to use the Midnight Riders' show to signal the chopper for evac.

"Coach that has got to be the stupidest idea I've ever agreed with. Let's do it." The survivors headed out of the safe room and fought through zombies until they got to a concert stage. "That's nice of them to leave all their shit lying around."

"Let's get this shit set up," Ellis shouted eagerly as he ran out first. The survivors dispersed throughout the stadium.

"Sorry to break it to you Coach: but your heroes lip-sync. There's a tape back here labeled Finale," Nick pointed out, holding up a tape that said one of their songs. Coach put his massive hands over his ears.

"No, they're just saving their voices for the studio, Nick. That's SMART!" Nick laughed a bit before sorting through the rest of the leftover supplies. Nick stopped, looking over at Coach who was looking through nearby crates.

"Hey Coach," Nick piped up. The heavyset man turned around with an interested look on his face. "Thanks for…listening to me bitch back there."

"Awe hell Nick, don't sweat it man. As long as you're talking about your family I don't consider it bitchin at all." Nick smiled again.

"Still, thanks a lot big guy." Coach chuckled a bit before heading back to the stage.

"How do we start this thing up," Ellis asked as Coach and Nick walked on stage.

"I have an idea," Nick chimed in. "Hit the button that says finale."

"Hit it Nick," Rochelle said, getting ready.

"Alright, when I hit this tape, it's gonna blare some old people's rock music and start the finale. Coach, you're not gonna start dancing are you?" Everyone turned to Nick, all shooting him glares of impatience. Their nerves were already worked up for the fact they were left out in the open. "Okay, we'll set off the pyrotechnics, but I'm telling you right now: I AM NOT GOING TO AIR GUITAR!"

"NICK," the other three sound in unison. Nick only snickered in response, placing a hand on his knee for support.

"I'm just fucking with you guys, hold on." Nick hit the button, starting the song. "If you have taste cover your ears!" The fireworks went off and the music started playing, alerting every single zombie in the park to their position. The zombies started climbing over the walls, surrounding the four survivors completely. "God damn it, it's getting good!"

The survivors started firing into the endless wave of zombies that flooded into the stadium and towards the stage. The survivors all started firing in four different directions to hold off the wave of zombies that seemed never ending. Ellis had been saving a pipe bomb which he hurled off stage. Most of the zombies ran after the ticking bomb, which exploded shortly afterward, killing a large number of zombies. The rest were picked off by the survivors, until most of the concert was cleared and the song stopped. Then another song started and the stage started blasting more and more fireworks than before. Just then, the helicopter flew in, bringing a horde of zombies and even a Tank with it.

"It worked," Nick shouted. "I love you Coach!"

"Get to the chopper," Ellis shouted. The survivors jumped off stage then ran up into the stadium seats where the chopper had lowered down. "Man this is just like the music videos!"

"Go boy, go," Coach shouted, fighting the urge to smack Ellis.

The mechanic continued running with the rest of his group. Rochelle got on the chopper first while Nick lingered, firing at the other zombies for Coach and Ellis to catch up. The mechanic got in next, placing his arm against the wall of the helicopter for support.

"Come on Coach," Nick shouted, firing at the oncoming zombies. Coach was wheezing and panting as he closed in on the helicopter. The heavyset man got in and felt the chopper starting to inch away. Coach, Ellis and Rochelle all turned to Nick.

"NICK!" The conman turned around then ran for the helicopter as it was taking off.

"Shit!" Nick sprinted for the chopper which was now pulling away instead of inching away. The conman dropped his assault rifle then dove for the helicopter. Nick landed with his foot on the landing bar of the helicopter, his hair flying around from the helicopter's blades. "Take that you mealy mouth bastards!" Nick held out one arm, giving the peace sign while he held onto the helicopter with his other hand. Coach grunted as he pulled Nick into the chopper. "That was fun right?" Coach glared at Nick before he busted out with laughter.

"Now who ain't right in the head," Ellis said to the laughing Coach. Nick smiled his first real smile before he just stared out into the amusement park they were leaving behind.

--

The day was coming to an end, and the boys weren't the happiest of campers to have to go back home. The drive home was at least an hour and a half, and it was almost seven. Still, the amount of energy the two kids let out at the amusement park would drain anyone out. Ed was already fast asleep, holding onto a massive red balloon Nick got him, another thing of cotton candy in the same hand, and the gnome he won in his other hand. Jamie was tired, but couldn't go to sleep for some reason.

"You alright kid," Nick asked, peering into the rearview mirror. Jamie nodded slowly, staring out the window sleepily into the darkness. "Can't go to sleep?" Jamie shook his head and then yawned. "Just close your eyes and you'll be home before ya know it."

"Uncle Nick," Jamie murmured quietly. Nick stayed silent, waiting for him to continue. "You're going to leave tomorrow aren't you…?" Nick sighed, really not wanting to answer the question. "Is it because mommy is kicking you out again…?"

"No Jamie…it's because…of business."

"Mommy says you're a criminal." Nick tightened his grip on the steering wheel, cursing his older sister again. "Is that true Uncle Nick?"

"Jamie I'm…I'm not a criminal. Sort of…it's complicated okay? I'll tell you some day when you're older."

"You promise…?"

"I swear Jamie." The young brunette smiled groggily and slowly closed his eyes and drifted off into a deep sleep. Nick stared at the road, the only sound now was the silent humming of the engine. He looked back in the rearview mirror at his nephews. Kathy started dating that rich guy recently, and started treating Nick like shit, more so than usual. Nick sighed then looked back ahead, confirming his instincts were giving in. Trust no one and look out for number one with only two exceptions: Jamie and Edward.

* * *

Alright, there's Bl3h's request of more background on Jamie's past through Nick, and during Dark Carnival. No I'm off to work on RoseintheShadows7's request and DevilsAngelSaphire hasn't sent me a request yet…how strange…

Anywho, hope you enjoyed this oneshot!


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